though he could have missed the games against Wales and France, after being cited for stamping on the head of England fullback Josh Lewsey; he was cleared of the charge when a disciplinary tribunal ruled that his actions had been "inadvertent and incidental". He started in all four matches in the 2003 Tri Nations Series, before being chosen in the All Blacks squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He almost did not make the squad, after suffering a stress fracture of the right foot during the All Blacks training camp in New Plymouth, an injury that required the insertion of a pin, but was included on the strength of his line-out play. He was rested for the first two pool matches, against and , but started in the remaining five games that New Zealand played, scoring his first international try in the final pool game, against Wales, when he jumped above the Welsh wing Shane Williams, to collect a cross-field kick from Carlos Spencer. French back, and newspaper columnist, Thomas Castaignède named Williams and England's winning captain, Martin Johnson as the locks in his "team of the tournament". 2004 At the start of the 2004 season, Williams failed to impress new All Blacks coach Graham Henry. Struggling to recover from the foot injury sustained just before the World Cup, he was below his best in the Super 12. Also, Henry was looking for locks who could perform well in the tight forward role, whereas the athletic and mobile Williams was viewed as a forward who was happier operating in loose play. For the trial match between "Probables" and "Possibles", he was chosen merely as a replacement for the "Possibles", and he was left out of the squad to face England, and the Pacific Islanders, and missed the next five Tests, including the opening match of the 2004 Tri Nations against . He was called into the squad before the Pacific Islands match, as cover for the injured Keith Robinson, but was not used, and he was left out of the squad for the Tri Nations. When Robinson had to withdraw from the opening game, it was Simon Maling, not Williams, who was called up to replace him. Williams was recalled to the squad for the next game, against , in which he came on as a substitute, and started in the return fixture against Australia, a game which the